MEDINA, Ohio – Bee Culture Magazine, the nation’s leading journal of beekeeping, will host its 4th annual Pollinator Day, July 21, in Medina at 623 W. Liberty Street, across from the Candle Store.

The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature several pollinator gardens filled with wildflowers that attract honey bees and other pollinators, including:

OSU Master Gardeners Phenology Garden

Residential and Commercial Plot Gardens by the Ohio State Beekeepers Association

Ohio Prairie Gardens by Ernst Seeds

Project Apis m. Pollinator Gardens

Feed a Bee Pollinator Habitat Garden

Monarch Garden Plot

Pollinator Buffer Strip Gardens

Tractor Supply Pollinator garden Mix

“We are pleased to see such an outpouring of support from leading organizations from across the country for this year’s Pollinator Day,” said Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine. However, pollinators are facing a critical shortage of forage areas that provide them the nutrition they need. Pollinator Day is an opportunity to educate the public on what they can do to help honey bees and other pollinators by creating gardens of flowers that nourish them.”

Among the special guests expected to attend this year’s Pollinator Day is Leo Schirokauer, 17, from Shaker Heights, Ohio, who is the 2018 first-place winner of the Young Beekeeper Award, sponsored by Bayer.

Leo, chosen from 50 applicants representing 21 states, is being recognized for his research to search for a cure for American Foulbrood, a disease that is fatal to honey bees. Under the guidance of a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, he works almost every day in the university labs to try to produce a protein that will kill the disease.

“It’s an extra special treat to have Leo join us,” said Flottum, who acted as a judge for this year’s award. “Leo is an inspiration to other young people interested in science and particularly in beekeeping, which needs young people to take up this craft that is so vital to American agriculture. According to a study a few years ago, the average age of current population of beekeepers is 57 years old.”

Bee Culture is published by Root Publications, a part of the Root Candle Company, that for more than 150 years has been involved in supporting beekeeping. Its founder, A. I. Root, is considered one of the founders of modern beekeeping and his book, “The ABCs of Bee Culture” is still recognized as the “Beekeepers Bible.” Root Candles are well-recognized and highly regarded for complex bouquets of subtle fragrances and sophisticated color palettes, important factors for discerning candle lovers.

For more information on Pollinator Day, contact Kim Flottum at 330-725-6677, Ext: 3214, or kim@beeculture.com